Iron Butt Rally - 2013

[ChaoSS]

Originally Posted by choneofakind

Relax Tim, I'm just teasing Alex about riding a bike that resembles something of a cross between a space shuttle and a LazyBoy.

I get why it's an issue. This amount of planning and prep is why I'd never be able to undertake an IBR.

I can't imagine being able to take that much time off of work, and still be able to afford that kind of trip. All that after putting all the money into the bike itself....



How much time are you taking off for this thing, close to a month I'd say? Are you self employed or something?

[Dano]

Hey if you need anything while in Pittsburgh PM me I will give you my cell#. I live south of the city but not far. I assume you will be using BMW of PGH up in wexford and staying in that area? Where does the Rally start at? and what day? I would like to see the start if its within my schedule.

[Alex]

Originally Posted by ChaoSS

How much time are you taking off for this thing, close to a month I'd say? Are you self employed or something?

I think it works out to 18 days of vacation. The July 4th holiday is in there, which helps for two of those days. I get about 4 weeks per year, so this is pretty much the whole enchilada in one shot. I spoke to the folks I work for over a year ago about this when I was given the entry, so it's been in the works for awhile. So I guess I can take their permission as an acknowledgement that I'm either really good at what I do, or I'm completely unnecessary.

Originally Posted by Dano

Hey if you need anything while in Pittsburgh PM me I will give you my cell#. I live south of the city but not far. I assume you will be using BMW of PGH up in wexford and staying in that area? Where does the Rally start at? and what day? I would like to see the start if its within my schedule.

Thx, Dano! I'll PM you my info. I have the hotel information at home, I'll get you the info. I believe it kicks off early morning on Monday the 1st of July.

I'm not sure with dealership I'll be grabbing tires at yet. At this point it's quite possible that the dealership will be swamped at that time period with other people like me. I may just change them a state or two away on the way over.

[Dano]

Originally Posted by Alex

I'm not sure with dealership I'll be grabbing tires at yet. At this point it's quite possible that the dealership will be swamped at that time period with other people like me. I may just change them a state or two away on the way over.

Changing them before pittsburgh may be a good idea, The dealerships here are not even close to the standards you have in CA! In my experience the service departments are severly lacking in quickness. If you do decide to get them done I would call now and make sure they have your tires in stock and set up a date and time to have them changed. BMW of Pgh seems to be one of the better dealerships in the area but they service a more affluent clientel. Most dealerships are smaller ones except for the harley dealerships.

[ChaoSS]

Originally Posted by Alex

I think it works out to 18 days of vacation. The July 4th holiday is in there, which helps for two of those days. I get about 4 weeks per year, so this is pretty much the whole enchilada in one shot. I spoke to the folks I work for over a year ago about this when I was given the entry, so it's been in the works for awhile. So I guess I can take their permission as an acknowledgement that I'm either really good at what I do, or I'm completely unnecessary.

You'll know when you show back up at work, and you either have to deal with all the back log, or you show up and they tell you visitors need to check in with security first....

Thx, Dano! I'll PM you my info. I have the hotel information at home, I'll get you the info. I believe it kicks off early morning on Monday the 1st of July.

I'm not sure with dealership I'll be grabbing tires at yet. At this point it's quite possible that the dealership will be swamped at that time period with other people like me. I may just change them a state or two away on the way over.

You have probably the biggest support network of anyone in the rally, just got to get the communication worked out.

[Alex]

I dropped the bike off at my local shop this morning, and they agreed to look at it today. I spoke with them a little while ago. The prior shop did break the switch. It was re-installed improperly, so when they tightened the panel down it crunched the terminal behind the panel. They can get it to barely work by pressing hard on it, but the switch is essentially broken. They are working out how to splice in a replacement switch, or hardwire the line to make the headset work alone, and worry about the speakers afterwards.

The Gerbing unit did die of an internal failure of some sort. Taken off the bike, and connected directly to power, it still failed. I have a new one being shipped overnight to the shop, so they can fix that tomorrow. They also really wanted to know who had done the prior work, as they were less than impressed. Just like plumbers, contractors, mechanics, and just about any other service industry I've ever dealt with, everyone believes the people who performed the task prior to them arriving on scene were nitwits. In this case, they did mention that they found a couple loose screws on the gas tank mount, and the wiring wasn't particularly neat. They are re-doing all the wiring for the new Gerbing, and have to figure out what is necessary for the audio piece. All things considered, I'm glad I had the chance to have other folks put eyes on the work, which will ultimately make the bike more reliable.

[Alex]

All better. Picked up the bike this evening, and all systems are go. They did find a switch that worked fine (at radio shack, no less), and were able to get things wired back up. The new Gerbing controller that I had overnighted arrived mid-day today, and they were able to get that working as well. The shop cleaned up the wiring mess under the seat, and now the entire area looks much less cluttered, and more factory/professional.

They suggested carrying two parts that fail rarely, but often enough that having a spare would be worthwhile. One of them is the EWS ring antenna related to the security system, and the other is the fuel pump controller. The first part looks to be $25 or so. Can't find a part number yet on the second, but will clear that up tomorrow.

[wardie]

Check with the installer of your fuel cell as to whether you can leave the valve open while riding if the front main tank hasn't emptied. I seem to remember and it may have been on carbureted engines where they have standard petcocks that you couldn't open spare tank if front tanks petcock was on. It would fill the front tank and if it's already full you would have a problem. Just worth mentioning it may or may not apply but from one IBA guy to another I'd rather be wrong than have you suffer a breakdown because I didn't mention this. Best of luck. Wardie

[Alex]

That's exactly right. I can't open the ball valve on the aux tank until the main tank is down to a few gallons left. If I forget and have both tanks full, with that valve open, the aux tank will continue to push gas into the main tank and it will come out the overflow onto the ground. It won't keep the bike from running, as the fuel pump will still work fine getting the gas from the main tank into my motor, but it's not a great idea to have all of that gas running out of the bike. Perhaps nothing bad would happen, but if it happens in a parking lot while stopped and the bike is sitting in a large puddle of gas, the risks are pretty clear.

[ChaoSS]

That and it defeats the purpose of having a second tank if you are going to just pour it all over the ground.

[Alex]

Very true.

[Alex]

Some last minute fun this weekend. I did find a half-gallon cannister at REI that seemed about the right size, and found a neat carrying pack for it. I attached it to my package shelf that has the fuel tank on it, and with some extra tubing I think I'm good for a hydration system of sorts.

But yesterday I wanted to test my fuel cell again. I siphoned the main tank, filled up the fuel cell, and looked for leaks. Nothing was leaking, but nothing was flowing either. I fought with it for an hour, playing with the quick disconnects and everything else, with no luck. I was really starting to get concerned. On top of the no fuel flowing problem, I couldn't get the gas cap back on. It is incredibly finicky, so many people get replacement caps for this particular cell. I asked my wife to put a second pair of eyes on the problem, and she looked in the main tank and asked why there was still so much fuel in it. I flipped the ignition on, and saw that the main tank was in fact still 3/4 full. My siphoning was weak, and I incorrectly thought I had drained the tank, so with an almost full tank the aux cell was never going to drain. Duh. I fully siphoned the main tank, confirmed it was down to 1/8 a tank or so, and then the fuel cell drained happily, as quickly as it had last week. Operator error! But - even with the fuel cell empty, I still couldn't get the @&#*)(@#*((&@# fuel cap on. I ordered two different styles of new ones, that should arrive either Tuesday or Wednesday. Nothing like cutting it close! It's like the razors & blades problem. Summit only charges $170 or so for the fuel cell, but then charges $50 - $70 or more for a decent cap on it. No way out at this point, I can't be fiddling with it for minutes or more at each fuel stop.

I also sliced up the foam covering I picked up last weekend, and test fit it around the fuel cell fittings, and it worked fine. It might make it somewhat more comfortable if I do shift backwards quickly in the seat.

Picked up new tiny camera cases, another mongo flashlight (520 lumens for 2+ hours! 160 hours at a lesser setting), and a travel mouse for the laptop.

[Alex]

Successful night working on the bike! Summit did ship both caps quickly, and they both arrived today. The quick-fill cap looked a bit dicey, with a very weak valve holding things in, but the standard steel d-ring cap looked like it would fit the bill nicely. I was able to remove all 12 mounting bolts of the stock cap assembly, without having any of them spin underneath, and soon enough I had the new gasket & top cap assembly installed. The cap is rock-solid, easy to use, and shouldn't cause any problems during the rally. (knock on wood). I also ran a ground strap from the fuel cell to a frame bolt, attaching it to one of those mounting bolts. It's completely overkill and likely doing nothing as the cell itself is metal sitting on metal which is attached to the frame with metal, but having the strap in place dodges any questions during tech inspection a week from Saturday.

[choneofakind]

Very cool Alex. I expect pictures/updates from every stop where you have Wi-Fi and 5 spare minutes of time.

This is an awesome challenge that I will never convince myself to compete in, but I think is awesome.

[hirubhaiambani]

Make a movie of the ride and call it 'Butt of Steel'.

But seriously, I never imagined soooooo much preparation would be needed for this ride. Great going!

[Alex]

Originally Posted by choneofakind

Very cool Alex. I expect pictures/updates from every stop where you have Wi-Fi and 5 spare minutes of time.

Unfortunately there won't be any real-time updates. We're cautioned very harshly about blogging/posting/tweeting/statusing during the event. Definitely check out this link: http://www.ironbuttrally.com/IBR/ , where there will be daily updates by a pretty funny writer that covers the event.

I'm going to wait an hour or so, and go for a short ride to test out the lighting and finally use the fuel cell on the road to confirm it works as expected.

[tfkrocks]

Originally Posted by Alex

Unfortunately there won't be any real-time updates. We're cautioned very harshly about blogging/posting/tweeting/statusing during the event.

Just out of curiosity, what's the reasoning behind that?

[Alex]

I think there are probably a couple different reasons, but two come to mind: first, focusing on anything other than the task immediately at hand takes energy. And we'll be using pretty much all available energy. Also, there's a bit of a concern of people actually tracking riders and interfering with the event. There was an incident quite awhile back where there was a reporter following the event, and interviewing riders. The unmentioned topic as motorcyclists (and as entrants in this or any other similar event), sometimes some riders might ride faster than posted speed limits. The reporter accessed a few of the rider's GPS units that were still on their bike in the parking lot, and posted up some of the top speeds he saw, in perceived conflict with the riders and organizers saying speed wasn't a significant component of the rally.

[tfkrocks]

Originally Posted by Alex

I think there are probably a couple different reasons, but two come to mind: first, focusing on anything other than the task immediately at hand takes energy. And we'll be using pretty much all available energy. Also, there's a bit of a concern of people actually tracking riders and interfering with the event. There was an incident quite awhile back where there was a reporter following the event, and interviewing riders. The unmentioned topic as motorcyclists (and as entrants in this or any other similar event), sometimes some riders might ride faster than posted speed limits. The reporter accessed a few of the rider's GPS units that were still on their bike in the parking lot, and posted up some of the top speeds he saw, in perceived conflict with the riders and organizers saying speed wasn't a significant component of the rally.

Oh wow, didn't think about people wanting to interfere I can see why real-time updates are discouraged.

[Alex]

Partially successful test ride tonight. On the plus side, the lights are still fantastic. May need to aim them a bit more carefully while stopped on a dark road at some point, but all is good there. The aux fuel tank worked as hoped. No leaks, and it drained into the tank as it was supposed to. I was warned by more than one person that I'd flip the valve and start to worry, as it does take awhile before the fuel gauge sensing something is going on.

This bike has a miles to empty setting on the trip computer, and when I started the ride, it was telling me I had 34 miles left. Very soon after, the low fuel warning popped on at about 32 miles. I flipped the lever to start draining the aux tank and kept riding. The miles kept clicking off though, saying 28 miles to go, 26, and got down to 23 miles to go. I worried, just like people said I would, that it wasn't working. But then it popped back up to 30 miles to go, and kept climbing all the way to over 100 miles left over the next 20 minutes. So it works. I got off the bike at one point to confirm that nothing was leaking, and all was still well.

But - the one thing that didn't work so well was my improvised hydration pack (thermos on its side in a pouch). When I got off the bike at home, the whole back of the bike was dripping. I was very worried it was the fuel tank, but when I touched the liquid, it was obvious it was just the water from that thermos. On its side, once I drank a little of it, I guess it was enough to leak through the air valve, and probably half the thermos just drained out into the pouch and then onto the shelf and the bike. It's not a workable solution for on the fly. It's the perfect size to store a thermos there, but not with the camelback style top on it. I think I'm resigned to just having a small water bottle sitting straight up in my tank bag.

[ChaoSS]

Originally Posted by Alex

The reporter accessed a few of the rider's GPS units that were still on their bike in the parking lot, and posted up some of the top speeds he saw, in perceived conflict with the riders and organizers saying speed wasn't a significant component of the rally.

I'd imagine that if anyone caught him at it, it wouldn't be a pretty sight. Not a good idea to **** around with people's bikes, especially when they are already in a grumpy mood from too much riding.

Originally Posted by Alex

Partially successful test ride tonight. On the plus side, the lights are still fantastic. May need to aim them a bit more carefully while stopped on a dark road at some point, but all is good there.

Does yours not adjust on the fly?

But - the one thing that didn't work so well was my improvised hydration pack (thermos on its side in a pouch). When I got off the bike at home, the whole back of the bike was dripping. I was very worried it was the fuel tank, but when I touched the liquid, it was obvious it was just the water from that thermos. On its side, once I drank a little of it, I guess it was enough to leak through the air valve, and probably half the thermos just drained out into the pouch and then onto the shelf and the bike. It's not a workable solution for on the fly. It's the perfect size to store a thermos there, but not with the camelback style top on it. I think I'm resigned to just having a small water bottle sitting straight up in my tank bag.

What's the problem with just using a camelback in the tank bag? I'd think that hydration would be one of the biggest issues on a ride like this, I'd put that above most of the other things that you want to bring with you.

[Dano]

what about a camelback under your riding gear? you could fill it up with alot of Ice and water and it will keep you cool also as the ice melts???

[Alex]

Originally Posted by ChaoSS

Does yours not adjust on the fly?

The RT doesn't have the auto-leveling and auto-steering lights that are currently available on the K16. It will likely get them when it is redesigned next year. I really liked that feature, and miss it a bit. The current model (my bike) does have a knob on the dash to manually adjust beam height for the headlights. But that doesn't affect my add-on Krista LED lights, which are more critical for aiming correctly as they are so much brighter.

Originally Posted by ChaoSS

What's the problem with just using a camelback in the tank bag? I'd think that hydration would be one of the biggest issues on a ride like this, I'd put that above most of the other things that you want to bring with you.

Camelbacks leak, and there will be other electronics in the tank bag (SPOT unit, multiple cameras, chargers). That same tank bag has pens, some tools, and other items that might damage a soft-skin camelback over a couple weeks of use. I was trying to avoid having any liquid in there, but I think that's where it will end up and I need to be careful with the metal water bottle and its cap.

[Alex]

Originally Posted by Dano

what about a camelback under your riding gear? you could fill it up with alot of Ice and water and it will keep you cool also as the ice melts???

Considered it, but if it has enough water to make a difference, it will have a certain amount of heft to it. Not a problem for a couple hours, but wearing it on my back continuously will eventually be irritating on my back. Few long-distance riders seem to use camelbaks on multi-day rallies for that reason.

[Panda]

Once you get all kitted up and ready to rock you should take some pics so we can see it. Also if you end up near the New York area and you need some help with something drop me a line.

[Alex]

Some last minute customizing has worked out well. I wanted to fix the hydration problem, so I ordered a frame from Amazon that looked to be about the right size for a thermos. It came in today, and I was lucky enough that the thermos I had purchased already fit pretty well. A little bit of extra duct tape around the middle, and it was a snug fit. I removed the old pouch that I had installed, drilled some new holes through the BMR shelf to mount the frame, and I think I'm in business. Here are some pics of the contraption:





Here's a shot of some of the add-on switch controls. The green switch toggles the Krista LED lamps on and off. The twist knob above that adjusts the brightness of those lamps. When I turn on the brights, the lamps automatically go to full bright as well. The toggle switch closest to the camera is the audio controller, that allows me to use the speakers or my headset for the BMW audio system. The last knob farthest from the camera is the Gerbing heated gear controller. There is an led there as well that's hidden in this picture by the toggle switch.



Here's where all that is located on the bike:



Here I'm holding the crappy plastic cap that was on the fuel cell. I replaced it with the simple steel d-ring cap that's currently installed.



Starting to come together. Will pack all day tomorrow, and take some pics before I head out early Sunday.

[Alex]

Here's a fun link where someone was laying out some of the thought process and constraints in choosing optimal routes for this year's event:

http://selil.com/archives/3852

[ChaoSS]

Originally Posted by Alex

Here's a fun link where someone was laying out some of the thought process and constraints in choosing optimal routes for this year's event:

http://selil.com/archives/3852

I'd be interested in one day doing an IBR, but I would suck at the routing, trying to get as many points as possible. I'd start over thinking things and end up spending too much time planning.

I'd have to just ride, and screw the points, pick up some here and there but not worry about too many.

[CC Cowboy]

Alex, you are a true motorcyclist. I hope you have fun despite all the agony of the daily demands.

I'm planning a ride from FL to Maine in July on a GSXR1000. My schedule depends on weather, restaurants, friends, health (in other words, no rush, meaning no stress). I use no electronics and carry as little as possible. I used to do it every summer but I haven't done a long trip, on a bike, in years.

Should we cross paths I'll wave as I go by.

[Alex]

Made progress today, but not as much as I'd hoped. Will still be packing some more in the morning before heading out, so it will be a little later than the original plan. Still shooting to get to Ohio by Thursday morning for new tires.

Realized I lost the little nubbin like tool that's needed to add oil to the crankcase. You can do it with a screwdriver, but it's a plastic cap and you end up bending it without the right tool. A friend has one, and I'll be swinging by his house in the morning.

[Whiskey]

Originally Posted by Alex

Considered it, but if it has enough water to make a difference, it will have a certain amount of heft to it. Not a problem for a couple hours, but wearing it on my back continuously will eventually be irritating on my back. Few long-distance riders seem to use camelbaks on multi-day rallies for that reason.

I've never used camelback, but Source do some very good hydration systems. The Razor system looks like it could be strapped onto the bike & carry 3l which should do for a reasonable amount of riding. The top folds over & has a strip lock it tight so it shouldn't leak (mine never did) & hook the tube onto your self with an S biner or similar for a quick disconnect.



Just an idea

[Alex]

Heading out shortly for the east coast. Wish me luck!

[ChaoSS]

All right everybody, time to spam the forums with pornz.


I mean, hey, good luck Alex.

[Alex]

Safe in Elko, NV for the night.

[ChaoSS]

Originally Posted by Alex

Safe in Elko, NV for the night.

And cleaning up the crap that shows up right after you leave.

Props.

[NevadaWolf]

Originally Posted by Alex

Safe in Elko, NV for the night.

:waves hello / goodbye:

Have a safe ride!

[Alex]

Made it to Cleveland; in for the night. All is going reasonably well, and am getting new tires and an oil change early tomorrow before heading to the start hotel.

[Alex]

Looks like the public page with all rider locations has gone live:

https://spotwalla.com/locationViewer.php?id=168

[Alex]

Current tracklog:

current track.PNG

[OCMagnum]

Good luck and be safe out there Alex! Remember that your true bonus points are waiting at home.

Now go and kick some butt!